Traditionally, wood is used as handle material for tools such as pitchforks and shovels having handle-receiving sockets. Tool handles are fitted at the factory and must generally be autoclaved or steamed until malleable so that when driven into the socket, the outer end of the malleable wood handle is consequently shaped to fit the angled or curved section of the handle-receiving socket of the tool. Usually, the tool coupling end of the handle has one or more longitudinal slits to more easily fit the inside shape of the socket and allow the section to dry out after joining the handle to the socket.
Various types of handle-receiving sockets are found on pitchforks and shovels. For example, the various types of shovels include a hollowback shovel with a shoulder, a Razorback.RTM. open back shovel made by Union, a lock socket shovel, a solid socket closedback shovel with a shoulder, and a solid shank closedback shovel without a shoulder. Each of these tool handle-receiving sockets require a different shape and a different tool coupling end for the particular handle member used with the various shovels. Thus, retail distributors are required to carry a large variety of different replacement handles to fit the individual characteristics of each of the different types of tool handle-receiving sockets.
With respect to manufacturing, the production of specially shaped tool coupling ends on wooden handles is time consuming and expensive. The availability of wood having characteristics sufficient for use as a tool handle is less available today because of the increased demand and/or decreased wood supply.
The use of adaptor mechanisms on various types of handles to fit tool handle-receiving sockets for shovels is well known. However, these known adaptor mechanisms are generally used for specific structural conditions that are unique to a particular tool. For example, the U.S. Re. Pat. No. 32,364 discloses a flexible core that is used to fill the socket of a shovel for preventing the buckling or collapse of the socket during its use.
This known flexible core is used simply as a socket filler for bearing a compressive load in the handle-receiving socket while precluding the projection of the handle member itself into the socket. The flexible core is designed for a single type of tool-receiving socket, namely, a hollowback shovel with a shoulder.
This known socket filler is used with fiberglass or other tool handles which do not need to be fully inserted into a handle socket or cannot be fully inserted due to the curvature of the socket.
There is no known universal replacement tool handle combination particularly useful with wood handle members.